Andy Murray and his pasties

I know Andy Murray needs to psych himself up to be a contender at this year’s U.S. Open (and he’s done pretty well, making the semis at Toronto and winning Cincinnati over Novak Djokovic; he also tied Rafael Nadal in the U.S. Open Series standings). I suggest a different post-win act, though. Showing off his pasty bicep isn’t doing it for me.

With this display of brawn, Murray joins a group of guys with some notable victory celebrations:

Scoreline: The sixth seed Scot shocked the new world No. 1 in their semifinal, which was played over two days. Murray was up 2 sets but down a break in the third before a rain delay forced tournament officials to postpone the rest of the match until 4 p.m. on Saturday. The final score: 6-2, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4.

Looking ahead: Murray has an advantage in the head-to-head (2-1) against Roger Federer, his opponent in the finals . He beat Roger most recently in Dubai this year, taking him to three sets. Let’s hope his tough draw through this tourney (four-setters against del Potro and Llodra; five sets against Melzer) doesn’t negatively affect his performance.

Youzhny’s salute actually has a story behind it. while waiting for my plane, i met a Russian tennis photographer in Beijing’s airport and so we talked a little bit about Russian tennis players. and he said the reason why Youzhny salutes after every victory is that he’s doing it for his father, who died a few years ago at a young age, probably some kind of heart disease. well, anyway, his father was a military officer and that’s why he does the salute. to honor his father.